Rotary-cutting veneer-machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. S. & G. R. GORHAM.

ROTARY CUTTING VENEER MACHINE.

No. 397,181. Patented Feb. 5, 1889 zljg/T/VESSES I Q 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 5, 1889.

N. Perms, Phmumgn mr, wmimm n c.

' iJNrrn STATES ArnNr rricn,

EZRA S. GORl'l'AM AND CHESTER R. GORHAM, OF EUCLID, OHIO.

ROTARY-CUTTING VENEER-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,181, dated February5, 1889.

Application filed A ril 21, 1888. Serial No. 271,387. (No model) To allwhom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, EZRA S. GORHAM and CHESTER R. GORHAM, of Euclid, inthe county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful improvements in Rotary-Cutting Veneer-Machines; and we do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same.

Our invention. relates to improvements in rotary-cuttin veneer-machinesin which the knife-beari ng mechanism travels on ways that are inclinedto an assumed central plane of the log, such plane being horizontalorotherwise, as the case may be, by means of which the knife-edge as itis moved inward in the reduction of the log gradually approaches suchcentral plane, to the end that the knife is kept at the propercutting-angle relative to the diminishing periphery of the log withoutchanging the absolute pitch of the knife relative to such central planeduring such reduction. The presser-bar, or the cross-head bearin g suchpresser-bar, travels on ways that converge with the ways bearing theknife as these respective ways extend toward the axis of the log, bymeans of which the presser-bar and knife, that are somewhat widelyseparated at the periphery of a large log, gradually approach eachother, moving approximately on radial lines of the log the latter isreduced in size,to the end that, the presser-bar having been adjustedtoward or from the log, according to the thickness of veneer desired,and the presser-barbeing fed uniformly with the knife, a uniformpressure is had of the presser-bar against the log durin g the reductionof the latter and without changing the thickness of veneer.

Our invention also relates to details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

I11 rotary-cutting veneer-machines the knife should operate on theprinciple of a wedge, and to produce the bestresuits the two faces ofthe knife adjacent to the cutting-edge should receive equal pressure,respectively, from the log and from the veneer being cut. The thinnerthe more flexible is the veneer, bending more readily away from theknife, and consequently producing less pressure on the veneer side ofthe knife, by reason of which the thinner the veneer the more the knifeshould be canted or inclined toward the log. The pitch of the knifehaving been adjusted according to the thickness of veneer to be cut,there still remains another difficulty to be overcometo wit, the largerthe circle of the log on which the knife is cutting the harder the logwill press against the log side of the knife with a given adjustment ofthe latter, by means of which, if theknife has been adjusted to cutfreely when the log shall have been reduced to, say, eight or ten inchesin diameter, with such adjustment of the knife, if the log were of largesize-say three or four feet in diameter the knife would not cut at allon such large circle unless theknife were drawn with great force bymeans of the feed-screws against the log, and even then would not cutsmooth and do good work. Heretofore, for overcoming this difficulty,mechanism has been provided for automatically and gradually canting theknife in the direction away from the log during the reduction of thelatter. Such mechanism was more or less complicated and expensive tobuild and keep in repair. Ve have discovered that the same end may beattained by much simpler and less expensive mechanism, as hereinafterdescribed; also, with such automatic knife-tilting mechanism thepresser-bar'was supported from the same ways that supported the knife,

and no provision was made for shifting the presser-bar toward and fromthe log with the canting of theknife, and consequently on a large logthe presser-bar pressed too hard on the log, and such pressure wasdiminished with the reduction of the log.

Our improvement, by means of which these difficulties are overcome, willbe more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section. Fig. 2 is an endelevation, and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the relativeposition of the presser-bar and knife and the log as the latterdecreases in size.

In carrying out our invention the greater part of the machine may be ofordii'iary construction. For instance, the supportingframe, thelive-spindles and heads for rotating the log, and the mechanism fordriving and adjusting these spindles, and the feedmechanism. may, .inthe main, be copied from any one of several varieties of rotary-cuttingveneer-machine already in use. It is therefore considered necessary onlyto briefly mention such parts of the machine.

A preferable supportirig-frame, as far as shown, consists of heavystandards A and posts A, with the necessary tie-bars, braees, &e. Insuitable boxes connected with standards A are journaled thelive-spindles (I, the latter being provided with heads (1 for engagingthe ends of the log 13.

(J (J and (L U are ways on which respect ively operate the knife-headlfiand eross-head Gr. Sliding blocks D embrace ways and in suitable boxesconnected with these sliding blocks are j i urnaled the trunnions E ofknil'edrearfl E. The knife-head is usually made of east-iron, on accountof the eheapness of this material, and should be stiff and strong, andto this end a preferable form thereof in cross-seet ion is that shown inFig. l. The upwardly-projecting flange E of the knit ,--lread supportsknife e, and the depending rr'a-entoreing flange E serves also as alever with which to turn the knife-head on its axis and in rigidlyholding sueh adjustment. A cap, E", is located in [front of the knifefor clamping the latter by means of the securing bolts or screws e.Adjusting-serews or other suitable devices are had for adjusting andsupporting the knife edgewise. l'lloeks 1) have, respeet ivel y, ontheir inner faces in or arms (7. .llolts (1 pass loosely through holes,respectively, in these arms and in flange E near the bottom of each, andadjustingscrews (7 engage threaded holes in arn'i (7, the ends of thesescrews abutting flange E 13y manipulatingthese bolts and screws thelniife-head may, first, be turned on its axis to give the desired pitchto the knife, and then rigidly secured to hold such adjustment.

F F are the :t'eed-sc-rews, and these are j ournaled in suitable boxesconnected with the frame-work of the machine, these screws en- 'gagingsuitable nuts, I), connected with blocks 1). On these feed -scre\\'s aremounted beveled pinions f, and these latter engage beveled pinions f,mounted on shaft F, by which arrangement of parts the two feedserews arerotated in unison and the knife is kept parallel with the axis of thelog.

llloeks D are provided with npwardly-projeetingarms l) for operatingeross-head G, and these arms on their opposing or inner faces areprovided with longitudinal channels or ways D. tress-head G is providedwith arm (1i,thelatterbeingpiereed laterally for receiving shaft ll,forming journal-boxes for the latter. This shaft; has eeeimtrie-wristsH, in line with each other, and on these wrists are mounted blocks [1these blocks fitting nicely in channel 1)". mounted on shaft H forturning the latter on its axis in adjusting the cross-head andpresser-bar toward and from the log. Plate G is connected or integralwith one of the A lever, 11, is

arms G, and lever 71 operates by the side oi this plate. A loeking-bar,7), is fastened to lever It with belt 71 and thumb-nut 71. for clampingthe lever to the plate. By loosening this nut the lever may be turned ineither direction in adjusting the presser-bar toward or from the log,and sueh adjustment is held by tightening the nut.

The throw of. eeceiitrie-wrists ll for the pnrpose of adjusting thepresser-l rar aoem-ding to the thickness of veneer need not usuallyexceed a half an inch; but for moving the presser-bar baek out of theway in whetting the knife the throw of these wrists had bet ter be atleast an inch.

Cross-head G rests and travels on ways (1, the cross-head having groovesg, that fit the ways, to prevent possible end movement of thecrtirss-head. The cross-head is re-enforeml by ribs and g to make itstiff and strong.

I is the presser-bar, the same being bolted to the under side ofcross-head ir, so as to engage the under surface of wa 's Thepresser-bar is preterabl y a steel plate about an ineh thick and perhapslive or six inehes (more or less) in width. liar l is slittedtransversely through and through, the slits 1 commencing at the forwardedge thereof and extending to near the back 'edge, these slits occurringat points where slitting-knives J a re likely to be wanted. Alongitudinal hole, 11, ismade through bar I from end to end and near thefront edge of the latter for receiving bolt 1' for clmnping the slittingknil:'e. lx'nivesJa-re of thin plates of steel that lit nicely inslits I, each knife havin a slot, j, for straddling bolt An y of theseslittiug-knives that are not wanted for the time being may be removedand blocks of equal thickness inserted in place thereof, or such knivesmay be slid endwise until they are flush with the face of the pr'er-bar. Ely tightening bolt;- ithese slitting-knives are clamped andfirmly held, such knives of course having previously been adjusted sothat they protrude from the presser bar more or less, aetording to thethickness of veneer to be slittm'l. As the pressm-bar extends under ways(1 the ends of bolt; 1' are always accessible for purposes of settingand changing the slitting-knives. The principles on which. the machineis intended to operate will be better nnderstmid by referring to diagramFig. 3.

Circles l and ll represent the periphery of the log, respectively,lmfore and after the reduction, and b re n-esents the axis of the log.Let line I) I) represent a plane through the center of the log, and, formnveniencw, we will suppose that this line and the plane that itrepresents are lnirrizontal. Suppose the ljreveled face of the knifethat is next to the log be set vcrtieal. \Yith such arrangement,

if the edge of the knife engage the log at the intersection of line bl), as shown in dotted lines, the beveled face of the knife wouldrepresent a tangent to the log, and the knife in such position would notcut at all. Suppose the knife, without changing the pitch thereof, wasdepressed, as shown in solid lines just below the dotted lines, so thatthe edge of the knife would engage circle B at the intersection of line0 c. The knife in such position would certainly out. If the edge of theknife were moved along line 0 0, when circle 13 was reached the knifewould not cut, but would only scrape the log. '()n the other hand,suppose the knife-edge were fed along the radial line 0 I), or todescribe a plane making an angle with the plane of the beveled face ofthe knife greater than a right angle, in which case, if the knife at thecommencement engage the log at the proper cutting-angle, suchcutting-angle relative to the log would remain the same during thereduction. of the latter, and the knife would cut equally well whetherthe log was large or small. From our experin'ients thus far the properinclination of line 0 b to line b I) should be about an inch to thefoot. At least such inclination will give good results. \Vays C O areset parallel with line 0 b, but far enough below to accommodate theknife-head, &c. In rotarycutting veneer-machines a presser-bar isconsidered indispensable. Otherwise, if there is any lost motion in thefeed screws or mechanism or any springing of the parts, the veneer willvary in thickness. \Vith the presser-bar engaging the log withsufficient pressure to take up the lost motion and springing of theparts, there is no difficulty in cutting the veneer of uniformthickness.

It is not practical, for various reasons, to set the presser-bardirectly back of the knifeedge, among which reasons may be mentionedthat there are many slivers and spalts loosened by the knife, and thesewould wedge in between the presser-bar and knife and cause endlesstrouble. The presser-bar, therefore, should not only be adjustedrearward of the line of the knife-edge, according to the thickness ofveneer, but should be located some little distance above or from theknifeedge. The knife-edge and presser-bar being thus separated, if theywere moved on parallel lines in the reduction of the log, anotherdifficulty would present itselfto wit, between points separated a givendistance, such points being represented, respectively, by thepresser-bar and by the beveled face of the knife, 21 log of smalldiameter would reach through between such points much farther than a logof large size. For instance, suppose the presser-bar and knife-edge tobe properly located, as shown in solid lines, applied to circle B, andsuppose the knife-edge and presser-bar were moved forward on parallellines o c and c c. \Vith such arrangement, when circle B was reached thelog could pass bodily between the knit'e-edge and the presser-bar, andthe veneer would increase in thickness as the knife and p resser-barwere moved toward the center of the log. In. place of this, the knife,being moved, as aforesaid, on radial lines o b and the presser-bar bymeans of inclined ways 0' C, is moved on radial lines 0 b, in which casethe distance between the knife-edge and presser-bar will be inproportion to the size of the log, and if the parts were properlyadjusted at the commencement of the cutting operation the veneer will beof uniform thickness, and the pressure of the presser-bar on the logwill be uniform during the reduction of the log. It will be understoodthat the central plane of the log (represented byline b 1)) need not behorizontal, as assumed, for convenience. For instance, if the machinewere turned upon its end or set at an angle, for instance, of forty-fivedegrees, the operation of the mechanism would be the same; but thecentral plane of the log would then be vertical or at an angle offortyfive degrees from a horizontal line, and some terms used in thisspecification-such as vertical, above, and below, &c.are used relativeto an assumed horizontal central plane of the log.

\V hat we claim is 1. I11 a rotary-cutting veneer-machine, thecombination, with a knife and mechanism for pivotally supporting,adjusting, and feeding the same, of ways for such knife-supports totravel on, said ways being so disposed that the edge of the knife in itsmovement describes a plane making an angle with the plane of the beveledface of the knife greater than a right angle, substantially as setforth.

2. In a rotary-cutting veneer-machine, the combination, withpresser-bar, knife, and mechanism for supporting and feeding each inunison ,of ways, respectively, for the presserbar and knife mechanism totravel on, such ways converging in the direction toward the axis of thelog, substantially as set forth.

In a rotary-cutting veneer-machine, the combination, with convergingways, substantially as indicated, of knife and presser-bar operating,respectively, on the different ways, the said knife and presser-barbeing operatively connected, so as to move in unison by means of one setof feed mechanism, substantially as set forth.

4. In a rotary-cuttin g veneer-machine, the combination of inclinedways, sliding blocks mounted on such ways, knife-head having trunnionsjournaled in the sliding blocks, bolts, and adjusting-screws for turningthe knife-head on its axis and rigidly holding the adj ustmeut of theknife-head, substantially as set forth.

5. In a rotary-cutting veneer-machine, the combination, with knife andknife-stock, the latter being pivotally mounted on sliding blocks, ofways for such sliding blocks to travel on, such ways being so disposedthat the edge of the knife in its movement describes a plane making anangle with the plane of the bevel face of the knife greater than a rightangle, substantially as set forth.

6. In a rotary-cutting veneer-machine, the combination, with knife andsupporting mechanisni and Presser-bar, oi converging ways, substantiallyas indicated, whereby the knifehead and resser-bar are fed alongdit'ijerent radial lines of the log, substantially as seti'orth.

7. In a rotary-cutting Yencor-machine, the combination, with two sets ofways, knife and supporting mechanism, pressenbar, and sup portingcrosshead operating, res] )e(-,ti\'el on such wavs substantially asindicated, of upright wa s connected with the knife mechanism, andsliding blocks operatingin such upright ways, the sliding blocks beingconnected with the cross-head of the presser-bar,tl1c parts i beingarranged suljlstantially described, whereby the presser-bar is actuatedby the movement of the lcnifeanechanisin, substantially as set forth. 18. In a rotary-(mtting Veneer-niachine, the

combination, with presser-bar and cross-head, substantially asindicated, of shaft journalecl in boxes connected with such cross-head,said shaft having eccentric wrists and sliding bloeks journaled on suchwrists, and ways for embracing such sliding blocks, said ways hein g connected with the knife-supporting mechanism, the "parts being arrangedsubstantially as indicated, whereby the presser-bar adjusted tmvardorfrom the log byrotatin such shaft, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we sign this specification, in the presence of twowitnesses, this 27th (la of December, 1887.

EZRA GORHAH. CIIESTER R. GORHAM. Witnesses:

(inns. ll. I'Jonnn, ALBERT E. LYNcn.

